Letters: North County, Jan. 4, 2013

Gift-giving and other frivolities

As Christmas approaches (though it will have passed by the time of printing), I am reminded that Christmas is a religious holiday and not a gift-giving extravaganza. It is meant as a time of reflection and gratitude for the blessings of situation and family, for which we are all eternally grateful.

Perhaps the gift-giving extravaganza isn’t entirely superfluous. Perhaps, in the spirit of communion, we are drawn to gift-giving as a manifest feeling which is all-consuming at this otherwise cold time when another year ends.

We see that the true purpose of our existence is to enrich and enhance the collective experience of us all. Plus, it is just plain old good fun to give people stuff. Just ask President Obama.

Cheers and a great new year to all.

Nathan Wesley

Solana Beach

Liberals blame all for the fault of a few

Why is it that when conservatives want a law to prevent voter fraud, many liberals scream, “You can’t do that to us just because of a few illegal immigrants that sneaked in!”?

Yet, those same liberals have no problem blaming all of us and wanting to punish all of us for the fault of a few when a shooting occurs.

Mike Concannon

Escondido

Ammunition tracking system will be deterrent

Automatic weapons have no place in bedroom communities.

In addition to banning military-style automatic weapons from sale to civilians and more effective screening of gun-purchasers, let’s not forget the third leg in the “three-legged-stool” supporting the massacre of innocents: ammunition.

Technology (similar to radio frequency identification) can be used to “fingerprint” ammunition. Every bullet manufactured, warehoused or sold in the U.S. should be tracked in an online database, just as we do for automobiles and hazardous waste.

The greatest value of an ammunition tracking system will be deterrence. Holding gun shop owners and gun show dealers accountable regarding to whom they sell firearms and ammunition is critical in turning the tide on the use of firearms to carry out a public massacre.

When law enforcement in the U.S., Mexico or Canada recovers a fingerprinted bullet at a crime scene, if the provenance of the ammunition is incomplete, the last entity listed as owning it should have to answer, in court.

Michael Alston

San Diego

A history on government banning

For all for the people screaming to ban guns, I would like provide a history lesson on government banning what citizens want.

In 1919, alcohol was banned nationwide to stop people from drinking. It didn’t work; more people drank. What it did was create one of the bloodiest criminal periods in our history. The ban was lifted in 1933.

In 1934, the government banned narcotic drugs, but people continued taking drugs. In 1968, Lyndon Johnson declared a war on drugs. After 54 years and billions of dollars, we now have more drugs available than in 1968. Again, government action created a massive criminal empire, where thousands of people have died.

Can anyone tell me a country where guns are banned that criminals do not have guns? ...

Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and Chicago is the murder capital of the nation. California is the state with some of the strictest gun laws, but California, in 2011, had 1790 murders, 1220 were caused by guns. How were the other 500 killed?